We know that many people are already using social media to find information and to get involved in social movements. Earlier, Pew studies found that Americans are using social media to get their news. Others are using social media to encourage followers to get involved with causes and community activist groups.

But social media also serves as an important outlet for connecting people who would otherwise never meet, people who share common interests, who share ideas, and talk about their communities.

Authors of the Pew Research Center report, Monica Anderson and Paul Hitlin, noted that “at times, Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites can help users bring greater attention to issues through their collective voice.”

Social media should give people a voice about race, but apparently some are reluctant to speak up.

The same can’t be said about our willingness to use social media to post thoughts and ideas about politics.

For example, do a quick perusal of Facebook and Twitter and you’ll find many users, regardless of race, have opinions about the candidates for U.S. president.

People are openly engaging in debates about Trump and Clinton. However, there may be just as many people avoiding social media as a way to block out the negativity (maybe Pew researchers will study that next).

Still, when it comes to race, hashtags such as #BlackLivesMatter and #Ferguson should be opening the door to discussions and idea sharing. There’s often a peak in conversations in the wake of a tragic event. For example, in July, social media posts spiked after the deaths of two black men at the hands of police and the shootings of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, La.

Beyond the 3,769 telephone interviews Pew researchers conducted with U.S. adults in early 2016, they also looked at the amount of publicly available tweets about race over a 15-month period (in 2015 and early 2016).

During that time, 995 million tweets about race were posted, or about 2.1 million tweets per day. But there are more than 500 million tweets per day, so tweets about race make up less than 1 percent.

So not only are some people reluctant to talk about race, some are simply being drowned out by the cacophony of social media voices.

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Dr. Adam C. Earnheardt is associate professor and chair of the department of communication at Youngstown State University in Youngstown, OH, USA. He researches and writes about social media and technology, sports and fans.